Lil' Red Ridin' Hoody
by LaLunaSole
Summary: She felt free in the night, with her red hoody masking who everyone thought she was she felt she could be herself. Of course no one would ever suspect that she was the tough, street fighting Lil'Red, that just made it easier. That is until a big bad wolf decided to ruin the fun. Will he be her downfall, or will a shift in loyalties join this unlucky duo together?
1. Prologue

**I think it goes without saying but I'll say it anyway, I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters, only Hiro Mashima does.**

Prologue

Imagine a girl about 17 years old, her hair such a glorious golden color it could outshine the sun's rays. She has such fair skin Snow White wants to be in her shoes, but the most redeeming feature of this girl so gorgeous, has to be her eyes. They are the biggest deepest eyes you could imagine, the kind you get lost in for days and not care in the slightest. To top it all off, her eyes are a luscious golden brown that perfectly contrasts her skin.

There is, however, one bad side to all of this, while to many during the day she may look like an innocent, well rounded, absolutely blissful individual, her eyes tell a different story to those who care to look. They hold her past. She unknowingly holds the gateway to her very soul open to the world to see, but does it? Of course not, nobody would ever think to look past her 100-watt smile just to see if it's sincere.

To her friends who saw her every day, she was just a normal high school girl, with nothing to worry about other than grades. They thought they knew her completely, to them she was Lucky Lucy Heartfilia, heir to the Heartfilia Konzern, but later when she donned her red hoody and stalked off into the night, she was Lil' Red.

Lil' Red was a notorious fighter, strong willed and ill tempered, a combination that isn't pleasant when mixed (at least not for others). She _always_ wears the red hoody. The hood drapes over her face enough to just barely make out the bottom of her mouth, thus concealing her identity quite well (kami only knows how she sees with it on). The sleeves hang just above her fingertips and the hemline of the sweater stops just above her thighs and a zipper down the middle with a pocket on either side.

But the finishing touch on what many would say is a plain sweater would have to be the color. Never in history had there been a fabric this shade of red, it simply didn't seem possible. It was the _bloodiest_ red imaginable, the crimson color was so deep that no matter how much light was on it, the cotton sweater appeared to be made of what could be assumes was fine silk or velvet. Sometimes it even appeared to be in a liquid state, which frightened many away from her and at the same time, heightened the rumor that her hoody was originally white, and only turned red from all the blood that was shed onto it by her opponents.

This didn't seem to bother Lucy very much though, in fact, in seem to bring her peace. She liked the feeling that people could tremble at her strength, and determination, not just her influence or money, it was like she got to be a whole other person, the person she wanted to be. The way things worked at night on the streets made her feel free, and she loved it. She had worked hard to attain freedom, freedom from her title, her father, and most of all her happy-go-lucky façade she had put on for nearly everyone she had ever met.

She stalked the night, ready to pounce on any prey that may wander by, little did she know that lurking in the shadows of the alleyway was a predator hunting her. A foe like no other the girl had come across before, eyes that blend with the night follow her every movement as she walks without purpose, though now she might want to run as no one else can catch a poor bunny like a wolf can.

**Huh, so this is my brain at 3:30 in the morning, cool.**


	2. Chapter 1 Motivation

I think it goes without saying but I'll say it anyway, I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters, only Hiro Mashima does.

"Miss Heartfillia! Miss Heartfillia please pay attention!"

"Ah, sorry Capricorn, it seems I'm just a bit tired. What were you saying again?" the young heiress questioned her butler.

He sighs exasperatedly "I was saying your father requested your presence at the mansion this evening at six and you have a meeting with mistress' Mcgarden and Strauss, I'll drop you off."

"Oh thank you Capricorn, I don't know what I'd do without you," she says sending a sweet smile his way.

He returns the gesture but it quickly shifts into a worried frown when she yawns for the umpteenth time that morning.

"Milady, are you still having trouble with sleep? Perhaps we should take you to the doctor to be sure nothing is wrong."

She smiles at the concern he shows her, "You're overreacting, I'm sure it'll pass, my body just seems to be more active than my mind at night, so I sleep, just not well. Trust me, I'll be fine." She gives him a reassuring smile, which seems to settle him.

"Alright then, please get ready to go, we'll be leaving in an hour"

After nodding in agreement, she found her way to her room. She grabbed her clothes for the day and headed to the bathroom where she would soak to relax the muscles she strained the previous night.

As water filled the tub, she undressed and poured her brown sugar and amber body wash in, creating soothing bubbles to relax.

Once filled to the brim, she let out a hum of relief as she lowered her soar and tired limbs into the refreshing water. The scent wafted in the air, relaxing her mind as well. She stayed in the bath for about half an hour until she finished washing. She got out and wrapped a towel around her body, and proceeded to brush the few tangles out of her golden locks.

She got dressed in an outfit consisting of white capris, a flowing baby blue blouse that seemed to flare slightly and the bottom and bell cuff, a cream blazer she left unbuttoned and a pair of cream-colored flats with a faint blue sakura petal design on the sides. Her hair was done in her usual side ponytail with a light blue ribbon.

By the time she was ready it was time to depart and she met her trusty butler at her door. Usually, teenagers live with their parents, but Lucy was simply funded by him. Her father was strict and unloving. He had sent her away to live on her own to teach her responsibility; being able to cook, clean, and fend for yourself was something he though she needed to do, though he still paid her rent, it was simply to ensure she didn't think she could do whatever she wanted. He wanted her to know that he was still in charge of her life, and that she still had to obey him.

So now, rather than living in a lonely mansion like a caged bird, she lives in a cozy apartment on Strawberry Street. It's a rather nice place for being only 70,000 jewels a month. Her apartment is on the second floor of the duplex, though no one seems to live in the one below it. It's simple, it has a moderate living room, kitchen, bedroom and a rather spacious bath. For someone that comes from such a rich background, it's rather surprising to people that she would live here. Her fluffy pink bed, bookshelves lining the walls, dresser covered in trinkets, perfumes, and other assorted items and a maple desk furnish the bedroom to give it the homey feel. Her living room is adorned with a simple furniture set along with three chairs that don't seem to match anything at all surrounding the coffee table. Her kitchen doubles as a dining room, which simply consists of a table and chairs.

It's cozy, simple, homey, and everything she wants in a home, despite the lack of people within it. She feels free here, and doesn't plan on leaving anytime soon. As stated before, the rent is pretty cheap for such a great place, that was one of the reasons she picked to live here. This way, if her father ever decided to stop paying rent in a way to force her to follow his demands it would be low enough for her to pay on her own.

The drive to her destination was silent, but comfortable. He dropped her off outside of a café, and wished her farewell before driving away in the pitch black Porsche.

She walked inside and was immediately greeted by her waving friends, "Hey Lu-Chan! Over here!"

She bounded over to her friends and greeted them each with smiles, "Hey Levy-Chan, Lisanna-Chan, how are you guys?"

They hugged and replied, both of them were fine and that pleased Lucy, she loved it when her friends were happy, it made her happy to see them happy. They had a pleasant chat while eating their food, Levy, our resident blunette, had a blueberry cheesecake with an orange zest crumble and oolong tea, Lisanna had a lemon pudding and iced tea, while Lucy had a slice of chocolate cake and a vanilla frappe.

"Hey Lu-Chan, do you wanna go with Lisanna and I to the book fair on Thursday?" she squeals with excitement at the prospect.

Lucy practically beams "Sure you guys, I'd love to, you said Thursday right?"

"Mhm, this gives you tomorrow to prepare, be sure to bring a big bag, remember how many books we got last time" Lisanna chimes and we all giggle at the memory.

The day goes on and and they keep chatting till Capricorn arrives again, "Miss Heartfillia, I apologize for intruding but we must leave to go to the meeting with your father."

"Oh yeah, sorry girls, gotta go, I'll see you Thursday okay?"

They nod in acceptance, "Bye Lu-Chan!" they say in unison.

She makes her way back to the car with Capricorn in the lead and they make their way to her former home and prison.

After quite a bit of driving they pull into the Heartfilia Manor's driveway where she is lead inside. Once in, she is immediately swarmed by servants and maids that prep her to be more 'presentable' for her father. She is forced into a long flowing corset gown, complete with lace, frills, and roses galore. The whole thing makes her sick, but she deals with it.

After a while, her father finally requests her presence and she goes inside and acts as respectable as any trained heiress would. She stops a few feet in front of his desk and waits for him to acknowledge her.

"Miss Heartfilia" his voice resounds within his office

"Yes sir, you called?" she despises how he won't call her by anything other than her title, that's how distant they are, she isn't even allowed to call him "dad", just "father" of "sir". It sickens her, but mostly it saddens her.

"Yes, it seems there will be a formal party for my investors on Sunday, you will be attending. Be sure to dress elegantly and behave, I don't want you messing anything up at this party is that understood?"

"Ah but father I was going to-"

"I SAID IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?!" his booming voice cut her off and she flinched slightly at the noise.

"Yes sir" she nodded her head in defeat knowing there was no arguing with him.

"Good, then you're dismissed," he said as he returned his attention to the paper work in front of him.

She nodded curtly and left just as quickly.

She was angry when she left his office to change, livid by the time she finished, and fuming by the time she got home. Rather than having her rage simply disperse, it grew, because the more she thought about what happened, the angrier she became with her father for forcing this on her and even angrier with herself for complying without so much as a simple argument.

But lucky for Lucy, she knows just how to deal with this. She changed into a pair of skintight black pants, a pair of ruby red heels, and a sleeveless black top with white star designs accentuating her breasts and descended upon her side until the shirt ended at her hip, much like a trail from a shooting star. She put her hair up in two high pigtails and applied some deep red coloring to her lips, and finally added the pièce de résistance, her red hoody.

Then quicker than a flash she was off into the night, Lil' Red prowled the night looking for some prey. She was mad, madder than usual, and she was determined to take out her pent up aggression, and once Lil' Red decided something, it happened.


	3. Chapter 2 Release

Her steps were hurried and frantic, she was baiting them. The men she knew would follow her down the dark alleyway. Nothing could prepare them for what was about to happen. She just seemed so scared, so out of place that she was begging to be followed by trouble. Of course, to her this was no bad thing. In fact, this was her plan the whole time because sometimes you have to be the prey to truly be a predator.

There were at least six men behind her silently waiting to take her as their own. "_This'll be easy" _she smirks beneath her hood, waiting to be approached. Then it happens, she rounds a corner and ends up at a dead end. Whooping and hollering fills the dank alley as she turns to face them and quickly realizing that her assumption of being followed by six people was correct.

"Well what have we here boys, a pretty little lady lost on the wrong side of town" a fairly tall man with short, spikey, blue hair steps forward. He has dark eyes and what looks like a cursive "x" above his right eye. "Looks like we should assist the young lady, doesn't it".

Laughter ensues as his goonies step forward, but not so willing to give up on her fun so quickly she plays along.

"Wh-who are y-you, wh-wha-what d-do you want from me?" she asks in a trembling voice, anyone would believe she was honestly scared of these men and she uses this to her advantage.

"I," the obvious leader speaks once more "am Bora of Prominence and you are now our property," he smirks, his arrogance filling the small space like a toxic gas as she tries not to gag "get her boys".

They charge at her almost immediately, she ducks under a punch intended for her jaw, hooks his arm in hers, and throws him into the others, successfully knocking back two others. She is then grabbed from behind unable to move her arms and is hit in the stomach. She coughs up a bit of blood from the force of the blow but quickly recovers and kicks the one that hit her in the chin and knocking him out.

She struggles to get free from the man behind her as three others start throwing attacks. Bora laughs as he reminds them not to hurt her too bad seeing, as she's still a good product. But his laughter ceases when she hooks her legs around the throat of the man in front of her and twists her whole body. She manages to escape the grasp of the man behind her, but not without dislocating her shoulder. Her twist ends when she and the man she has trapped slam into the harsh and unforgiving ground.

She's winded, but the man she took with has a bleeding crack on his forehead and blue lips as proof of the asphyxiation caused by the strong grip she had on his neck. She gets up quickly, wincing lightly from her shoulders new injury. She roundhouse kicks another man and he drops as well. With two men left, not counting Bora as he hasn't joined the fray, she charges and ly to be met with the sharp end of a blade.

"Bring it girlie, I ain't lettin' you beat me", the ugly goon started slashing at her while the other threw punches from her other side. She quickly tries to devise a plan only to come up short when she tries to avoid being hit. She screams a little as she uses her leg to block a would be fatal stab, she bleeds a deep scarlet that quickly slides down her leg. The other man, thinking he can use this to an advantage, leans down and punches the fresh wound. The howls in pain, tearing up slightly, and punches the man three times in the face, effectively knocking his brain around enough to put him down for the count.

The man with the knife lunges at her side but is deflected and kneed in the stomach. His hold on the blade loosens and she quickly takes it and slashes across his chest causing him to cry out. She then lodges blade in his stomach and he falls down, losing consciousness from massive blood loss. Her adrenaline is pumping and her anger has died in the midst of battling the five brute and she turns to Bora feeling fantastically loose and free she no longer acknowledges her injuries.

He looks angry, but mostly, he looks scared. She beckons him to her with one finger and he starts to shake. Then his eyes widen and he smirks, curious as to what he's thinking Lil' Red simply watches the man. He draws a gun from his waist, she curses under her breath thinking of how she could have missed it. It had been concealed beneath his gaudy cloak, and in the dark of night nearly impossible to see even when looking for it.

"Looks like someone's been a naughty young lady" he steps closer to her, his condescending smirk widening with each stride. He stops directly in front of her with the gun to her forehead "you called?" he says not even attempting to hide the amusement in his voice.

She stands, unmoving, calculating the situation at hand and after a moment smirks, "Yes, yes I did, I thought I'd liberate you of such a gorgeous pistol seeing as you won't be needing it".

He laughs, "Even with a gun to your head you think you can beat me?"

"I don't just think, I know" and quicker than lightning she wraps her arm around the one with the pistol in it and twists until she hears a satisfying snap. Humming in satisfaction as he screams she knees him in the stomach.

"Who are you, you bitch!"

This time it's her turn to laugh and says "I'm Lil' Red, and you're my latest victims" she elbows the back of his neck, effectively knocking him out. She drops his seemingly lifeless form and relaxes her shoulders "Ahhhh that felt good!" she stretches her limbs, wincing at her multiple injuries.

Unbeknownst to her, impressed eyes watch on from the shadows.

She leaves the disgusting alleyway and walks on into the night not worrying about being seen, her black pants a great cover for the blood still flowing down her leg. She stops at a payphone with a handkerchief in her hand and calls the police without leaving any prints on the object and disguising her voice. Once all is said and down she tries to disappear into the shadows but is stopped halfway.

"Well hey there" and young, but strong male voice stops her with a hand on her shoulder, she inwardly winces as to not show any signs of weakness.

"What do you want?" she asks coldly

He grins at her in a childish sort of manner "You."

She quickly takes to the offensive and flips him over onto his stomach, not expecting that the boy has no time to react and his body simply flies how she wants it. He lands with a strangled groan and she straddles his back with his arms immobile beneath her.

His head is now slightly lit and she can clearly see his wild and untamed hair, her favorite part had to have been its unnaturally pink color. She suppresses a giggle at the sight of the obviously muscular boy with the girly bubble gum colored hair.

After getting over her initial shock, she composes herself "What the hell do you want with me?"

He mutters curses under his breath, still slightly winded form his harsh impact on the ground he manages to groan out an answer while coughing "N-not me, my boss".

"And just who might that be?" the spits through gritted teeth

"Wolf"

She pauses, her heart beats faster than ever before as fear creeps through her system "Wolf? As in the Big Bad Wolf, the meanest, cruelest, most sadistic gang leader in all of Fiore, Wolf?" she prays for him to deny it, but of course, that would be too good for her.

"The one and only, how about you get off of me now, he's waiting for you and if we keep him waiting he'll come looking and I doubt you'd want that".

She quickly scurries of him and stands a ways back as he gets up, "I ain't gonna attack you ya know, I was told not to".

"Why should I believe you?"

"Well if I was gonna hurt ya I'd of done it by now so…"

She thinks for a moment "Fair enough I guess"

He grins like a child and waves her over "Now lets get going before he decides to murder the two of us"

With hesitant steps she walks over to him and follows him to what she's sure is going to be her death, no one just gets invited to see Wolf, he's terrifying and a blatant murderer with a rap sheet longer than the largest book Levy has ever read. She walks on, scared of what's to come as she finally comes to a halt at the door of an obnoxiously loud bar named Fairy Tail waiting to meet the man feared all over Fiore by little kids to police officers, the Big Bad Wolf.


	4. Chapter 3 The Big Bad Wolf

The peculiar boy grabs her arms and drags her over to the door where she is stopped by a man Lucy is sure was larger than the door. He was a wall of muscle with a head of spikey white hair upon his head. The scar on his face added to the unease within Lucy, as she is forced ever closer to the giant.

"Hey Elfman!" said the pinkette sporting a goofy grin

"Hey Natsu, who is this?" says the white haired man as he tries to peak beneath the red hood, _"So his name is Natsu, an odd name for an odd boy…then again this guy's name is Elfman so maybe I'm the one with the odd name"_ she thinks to herself.

Natsu carefully stands in front of her "Uh, I wouldn't do that" he rubs his check absentmindedly

"She likes to hit, and she hits especially hard when you try to see her face" Elfman simply raises a brow and Natsu leans in close to whisper to him, but ends up speaking loud enough for her to hear as he tries to speak over the noise emitting from the bar. "I think she's hiding her face 'cuz she's ugly like ice prince, if I had a face like that I'd hide it too".

Lucy, not being one to ignore an insult, especially one so blatant, quickly lands yet another punch on the young man's cheek. "Ow! What was that for?!" he complains, "Don't call me ugly you jack ass!" she exclaims fuming, she about to speak again when the white haired bouncer interrupts "It's not MANLY to insult a lady!" he says while he pumps his fist into the air.

"_These people are psychotic"_ she thinks to herself _"If I somehow manage to survive this I pray their crazy doesn't rub off on me… then again, I wear a red hood and beat the crap out of people under the pseudonym Lil' Red so what right do I have to judge"_ she silently chastises herself.

"So…am I just supposed to stand here or...?"

"Oh right! We gotta go Elf, off to see a wolf" the white haired man chuckles nervously and responds "Well good luck"

Lucy was then dragged into the bar and narrowly avoided being hit in the face with a sailing chair. The man beside her was about the join the ever-growing brawl when he remembered her and stayed back.

"By the way, I'm Natsu Dragneel, Aka Salamander" he grins like a maniac _"Salamander huh? Notorious arsonist and member of Wolf's gang, The Fairies, he must really be stupid to tell me his real name and his pseudonym, either that or he's just cocky. Then again, aren't those the same thing?"_

"And you are?" he asks

"You practically kidnap me and you don't even know who I am?" she asks incredulously

He fumbles with his words a bit "Well, yes- I mean no- I mean…uh…I meant your real name" he sheepishly scratches the back of his head.

"You know of me ask Lil' Red, correct?" He nods and she continues "Then there is nothing else for you to know, that's who I am and that's what you'll call me."

He frowns slightly but quickly recovers, "Alright then, let's go!" he all but shouts and runs off into the crowd of people packed so closely together it seems like they're all intertwined together.

She tries to follow but quickly loses him in the sea of people she plunged into.

She soon realizes that this could be her moment for escape; she could simply lay low for a while until this whole ordeal blows over. She turns and makes her way toward the exit when a hand clamps down on her shoulder (luckily not her injured one). Remembering she is on Wolf's domain, she suppresses her fight or flight reflex and turns expecting to see Natsu she is surprised to see the stern face of what she could only describe as a drop-dead gorgeous red head.

"Hello, you're Lil' Red, are you not?" she asks firmly. Lucy can only nod, and taking it as a sign to continue the red headed woman introduces herself "I am Erza Scarlet, member of The Fairies, also known as Titania" she offers a small smile but it fades as she looks around for a moment.

"Natsu brought you here correct?" still not able to find her voice around this obviously strong woman based off the iron like vise grip on her only good shoulder she nods once more. "Then just where might he be hmmm?" her gaze is intense when a sudden cackling laugh makes them both turn to see the one and only Natsu laughing like a maniac at a raven haired boy under a chair, and who seemed, at least to Lucy, to be suspiciously underdressed.

A dark aura soon surrounds the woman she now knows as Erza, when she storms over to the two of them and bellows a throaty "NATSUUUU! GRAAAY!" they turn and begin to cower in fear of the woman in front of them. "Are you two fighting?" a murderous glare fixated on the two quaking men. "N-no of co-course not E-erza" says the raven-haired man and Natsu replies with a weak "A-aye".

"Good." She smiles _"Really? She believed that?"_ her smile is suddenly replaced with yet another glare "Gray your clothes!", _"So I'm __**not**__ the only one who noticed"_, he starts running around like a mad man mumbling something about wondering where they are this time, while a pretty blue haired woman chases after him.

Natsu laughs but soon stops when the glare turns on him, "Natsu! Were you not tasked with the responsibility of bringing her to Wolf!" she exclaims pointing directly at Lucy. The bar suddenly comes to a sudden halt as everyone's attention is now directed toward her.

Natsu is shaken to his core at her tone and look and meekly nods his head; hushed whispers begin to swarm the hall regarding the hooded young woman. "Then why didn't you?" he is unable to come up with a response and simply opens and closes his mouth like a fish out of water when she strikes his head with ease and he is instantly knocked unconscious_. "I've always heard she was strong but I didn't think she was __**that **__strong, mental note, don't get on her bad side"_ she shudders at the idea of faces her wrath.

Her mouth hangs open as she watches the display of brute strength when Erza hauls the poor boy onto her shoulder, "Mira! Can you bring her down to him while I take care of Natsu?" a gorgeous white-haired beauty steps forward and nods "Of course Erza" the red head nods and says "now everyone back to what you were doing". Everyone complies, not wanting to face the wrath of the red headed demon.

Mira walks to Lucy and takes her hand and drags her toward the back, and passed the bar "I'm Mirajane but you can call me Mira" she gives Lucy a warm smile that she can't help but return, despite the fact it's partly covered by her hood.

"Lil' Red, sorry I can't give you another name other than that" Mirajane's laughs lightly as they near a stairwell "That's okay, we all have our secrets, you'll tell us when you're ready".

The rest of the walk was in silence as she was lead down the stairs to a dark hallway; she stepped cautiously and watched the shadows as if daring someone to walk out of them. Mirajane must have sensed her hesitation as she spoke "Don't worry, nothing is going to jump out at us, you were invited here to talk" somehow hearing it from Mira she couldn't help but believe her.

They made it to the end of the passageway and to a door made of steel, Mira knocked on it six times, hesitating after the second and fifth knock. A creature Lucy was definitely not familiar with then opened the door; it was a cat…but not. The animal seemed to have all the characteristics of a panther (one of her favorite wild animals next to elephants and pandas) but it had a human like body.

She gaped at it, of course, it's rude to stare so openly but she couldn't be bothered by that right now, besides, an advantage of her hood was that it hid her ruder actions. "Ah, Pantherlily hello, I'm here with the one Wolf wanted to see" Lucy just blinked as Mirajane spoke to him. "Of course Mirajane-san" it was at this point, where Lucy just about lost it and fainted.

Pantherlily ushered them inside the dimly lit room that looked to be a sort of messy hobby shop, filled with metal scraps and small metal statues lazily decorating it. However, what really caught her attention was the massive chair situated in front of what looked to be a desk of some sort. She then decided that either the man she was about to see was similar in shape to that of the bouncer out front or he was simply full of himself because the seat before her seemed like more of a throne than a chair.

Pantherlily then spoke again "He should be in. in a moment, make yourself comfortable, we'll be going now" and before Lucy even had the chance to open her mouth they were gone. She looked around the room and found that other than the throne and other chairs seems to be covered in random junk. She then thought about just standing but figured _"Hey, he's the entire reason I'm here and Mirajane did say that I wouldn't be hurt, and for whatever reason I believe her. I think I'll make him notice me a bit"_

With that thought she made her way to the throne and sat, rather ungracefully, upon it and propped her feet on the desk in front of her and waited. After a few moments, the door swung open unceremoniously and slammed into the wall behind it. Lucy watched as her heart nearly leapt out of her chest with fear. In walked a man, no, a beast, whose gaze fixated on her almost instantly. He was big to say the least, not as large as that human wall outside but still considerably large. He had a broad chest, which, even through his shirt, you could tell was completely ripped. In fact, it seemed like he was the finest muscular specimen she had ever laid eyes on. He was built, yet not so much so that it looked out of place. In her opinion, he was sculpted _perfectly_. His strong arms jutted out of his black tunic where feathers adorned one of the arms and fingerless gloves were worn on each hand. He wore loose fitting white pants tucked into his large combat boots.

His hair was wild and untamed, his crimson red eyes seemed to bore into her sole, and his strong defined chin complemented the rest of his body wonderfully. However, the most distinguishing feature had to have been the piercings. He had three metal studs lining the top of each of his eyebrows and three going down either side of his nose. There were also two going vertically down his chin, not to mention the ones lining his arms. She briefly allowed her mind to wonder where else he might have them, before shaking the thought from her brain.

She faintly aware that as her heartbeat increased so did her breathing, she was practically hyperventilating by the time she finished taking in his appearance. She wasn't stupid, she might not be very practiced in the relationship or sex area considering the way her life is, but that doesn't mean she can't spot an attractive male when she saw one. And right now she felt like she was in the presence of a god. He step forward and she audibly gulped. She thanked kami for the hood concealing her ever-present blush.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by a gruff voice "What the hell do you think you're doing girlie?" he growled at her

She was shaken at the comment and wondered what he meant, "Excuse me?" she silently thanked the heavens that she didn't stutter.

"Why the fuck are you in my chair girlie?"

"_That's it,"_ she decided _"he's an asshole"_ she steels her resolve and responds "I'm sorry but seeing as this is the only seat suitable to be sat in, I thought I'd take it. Especially after your little pyro practically dragged me here and I was practically assaulted when someone decided it was best to pitch a chair right where my head was, I figured I earned the seat." She said with an air of confidence she didn't feel within her at all.

He crossed his arms and stopped directly in front of her, then suddenly slammed his arms onto the desk beneath her feet causing it, and against her best wishes, her own body to jump at the shock of it. "You've got guts talking to me like that woman" he spat "do you know who I am? I am Wolf, the mighty Gajeel Redfox, you have no right nor do you have the strength to back up talking to me like that"

It occurred to her that she should've been scared but her anger overpowered it, her ill temper has often gotten the best of her because she simply couldn't find it within herself to be able to control it. She fumed under her hood and turned red with anger, so much so that she almost matched the hoods own color.

"_So my previous thought was __**almost**__ correct, he's huge __**and**__ full of himself"_ she glared at him (not that he could tell) and snapped "Shut the hell up! You're not that great! The only mighty thing about you is that you're a mighty prick!" she growled at him as she leaned forward after swinging her legs off the desk, inwardly she begged her mouth to shut up, but it refused. "I don't know who the hell you think you are to try and intimidate me but I steadfastly refuse to give into such ridiculous tactics".

Breathing deeply, she attempted to calm her climbing rage and absentmindedly lifted her knees to her chest as a sort of comfort. It was then that she became aware of the fact that she still retained the pistol she had _liberated_ from Bora earlier that night. She shifted uncomfortably, while she was used to attacking people and fighting, she didn't used weapons on a norm. So, the fact that she was still in possession of the gun wedge between the lining of her pants and her hip made her nervous.

He stared at her for a moment before smirking wildly "Gihi, you're feisty I'll give you that" he then knocked the clutter lining one of the chairs to the ground before sitting upon it himself. She outwardly smirked in satisfaction, even though on the inside she was simply celebrating the fact that he hadn't killed her…yet.

"Good," she began "so why don't you tell me why I'm here"

His smirk grew "I was curious as to who the young girl in the hood was that everyone seemed so afraid of" he spoke with supreme confidence, but, as Lucy knows personally, words can be deceiving, but the eyes aren't. And the look in his eyes told a different story "Gajeel was it? Why don't you cut the crap, you don't just invite people to your hide out, or tell them your name at that, just because you're curious. How about you tell me the real reason why I am here".

He quirk a brow at her, an irritated look crossing his face "Tch, Well aren't we perceptive," he glared at her harshly "fine, there's trouble going on in the food chain, people are shifting allegiances and I don't like it. I wanna know who thinks they can undermine me and my people without paying the price".

"And just what does that have to do with me?" her curiosity getting the best of her

"I've been watching you" that one sentence paled her considerably and caused dread to fill her entire being. It repeated through her mind as she tried her hardest not to break down right then and there. She had been watched, how much did he know exactly, and why watch her specifically? Questions floated through her mind as she vaguely registered that he was still talking.

"You're only out at night, you're a damned good fighter, and you're never noticed until you want to be, you'll be working for me from here on out"

It was that last piece that puzzled her, "Work for you? I don't think so, see this whole organized crime deal isn't really my thing"

He stood quickly and walk around the desk till he was right next to her and leaned down till he was only centimeters from her hooded face "Did I say you had a choice in the matter?" he growled dangerously and she had to suppress a shudder. "You're officially property of the Big Bad Wolf and there's nothing you can do about it"

At this her steel resolve shattered and her nervous stutter came into play "O-oh r-re-really? Wh-what if I sw-switch alliances l-like the others?"

He smirked at her stutter, leaned even closer, and whispered dangerously low "Then I'd kill you".

She panicked, her fight or flight instincts could no longer be submerged within her as her emotional dam broke loose. Quicker than he could comprehend she had kicked his chin with enough forced to send a normal man flying and threw two punches to his abdomen sending him to the ground. She fled for the exit and was grateful for the fact that the door wasn't locked. She made it all the way to the stairwell before Gajeel had snapped into reality after being so thoroughly caught off guard.

Without waiting a single moment she somehow managed to run through the entire bar without being stopped, she even made it past Elfman. She ran, and after several blocks heard distinctive yelling and figured it would be best to hide out the storm rather than run through it.

She found a two-story building soon after, and while it didn't have a fire escape, it did have a dumpster beside it and windows with a slight ledge. She ran at the dumpster and flipped onto it, she pushed off it and grabbed the window ledged and pulled herself up with a bound. This wasn't the first time she had been grateful for her gymnastics lessons and self-taught parkour, and she was certain it wouldn't be the last. She laid flat on the roof for some time, waiting out the hunt she could hear going on beneath her.

After a while she silently checked her surroundings to be sure there was no one waiting for her, once she was sure it was safe she made her way down and hid in the shadows trying to remain unnoticed.

Once she was home she checked the time "3:24 how unfortunate, I've been out for hours and will have to get up soon" She grabbed some pajamas and brought them into her bathroom where she stripped and bathed. Her wounds brought about a horrible pain, but she knew she had to get cleaned up. Once done, she bandaged her wounds and (very painfully) popped her shoulder back into place. After getting dressed, she put her dirty clothes in the hamper, hung her sweater, and put her newly acquired pistol in a safe place.

After all was said and done she laid down drifted to sleep almost as soon as she would hit the pillows. Little did she know, red eyes watched from her open window and carefully crept inside. The man silently pulled the covers to her neck as a cold breeze drifts in causing the young blonde to shiver. He then shut the window and sat down on the bed beside her, waiting for the moment she awoke.


	5. Chapter 4 Consent

Her alarm blared in her ears and poor Lucy winced at its harsh sound. She fumbled for the button to shut it off, but couldn't seem to find the button in her sleepy daze and ended up just knocking the contents of her table top off and silencing the dreaded device in the process.

With a groan, she pulled the covers over her head and reveled in the feeling of her warm, safe, and ever-so comfortable bed. After a minute or two, the wondrous scent of food filled her nostrils and she hefted herself out of bed with a smile. _"Capricorn, Virgo, you take such good care of me"_, with and uplifted mood she fixed herself in the bathroom as to not look too bad in front of two of her oldest friends.

Her feet padded along the floor as she made her way to the kitchen while yawning loudly. Crossing the threshold to said room, she rubbed her sleepy eyes shouting "Morning minna!" as she sat at the table.

"Morning Bunny Girl" a gruff voice returned as her eyes popped wide open. Her head whipped around to the source of the voice and she came face-to-face with the man that haunted her nightmares that night. Gajeel Redfox. Her mind acted on its own when she screamed in fear and made a run for it.

"I don't think so Bunny, not again," he said as he caught her in his arms.

"No! Let me go!" she hollered trying to get out of his grasp, but to no avail.

"Shut it would ya?" he growled in her ear "I don't wanna go deaf ya know"

Her heart was nearly leaping out if her chest because of how hard it was pounding_, "If he can't hear it"_ she thought _"then he'll definitely be able to feel it with how close her are"_. It was then she herself realized how close they were to each other. A blush coated her cheeks when she noted how he held her tightly against his chest.

So caught up in her own musings, she failed to notice that she had stopped trying to get free. Until, that is, Gajeel spoke again. "It seems you've calmed down a bit, so I'm gonna let you go now. But I'm telling you now if you try to run again. I'm not against using force, got it?" With a curt nod he slowly let her go, getting ready to pounce if she were to make a break for it.

She just stood there, frozen. Her blush had died while he was speaking and now she was trying to comprehend how he knew where she lived and how he got in. Noticing her stiffness, he wondered what might be going on in her mind, though he had a pretty good idea.

After a minute or so he felt a bit uncomfortable, "Sit down" he ordered, startling her out of her thoughts. She stared at him for a moment, her expression unreadable, and then slowly made her way toward the table. Once seated, he sat a plate a food before her complete with bacon, eggs, waffles and toast with strawberry jam. Her mouth watered at the sight and was about to dig in when the remembered just who gave her the food in the first place.

She wearily looked at the delicious looking food whose enticing aroma begged her to devour it, and then to the man who placed it before her.

He smirked at her conflicting emotions and once she looked to him decided to speak up "What?" though he already knew the answer. "You poisoned it, didn't you? You're trying to kill me" she narrowed her eyes at the man before her and a laugh rumbled in his chest. "If I were gonna kill you I'd of just done it, I wouldn't make you breakfast just to poison you, it aint my style." Just when she was gonna speak again a cat caught her attention. Well not the cat really, but more of the fact that it had wings and flew.

Her mouth dropped open in shock and her eyes widened in surprise, "Mornin' Lily" Gajeel greeted the creature as it landed on his shoulder. It gave a small nod "Good morning Gajeel," he looked to Lucy and gave a small smile "Lucy-san". It donned on her that this was the same creature she met last night, Pantherlily, but he was so small, her face screwed up in confusion.

He noticed quickly what she must have been wondering about, "Lucy-san have you ever heard of an exceed?" she slowly shook her head. "We are a rare species native to the far East of Fiore in the jungles, we are like cats but with the ability to speak and fly, and for some, we can take on a bigger form, like the one you saw me in last night".

She allowed the information to sink in and muttered and small 'alrighty then' before looking back to Gajeel who had an amused look on his face. She blinked once, twice, no three times, before she simply asked "What are you doing in my house and why?"

He raised a brow at how quickly she changed the topic but answered nonetheless, "To continue our little chat from last night, I gotta say, I didn't expect you to run off on me". The smirk that had been playing on his lips widened when her saw her gulp roughly and cough at the dryness of her throat.

"How did you know where I lived?" she asked in a dry voice

Gajeel grabbed a bottle of flavored milk from her fridge and set it before her and she drank it knowing it was sealed away and couldn't have been poisoned. "Well that's simple, we followed you" then he thought for a moment "well more specifically, Lily tracked your scent to that rooftop you were hiding on and followed you home, then reported it to me."

He watched as she paled "H-how did you g-get in? A-and w-wh-when?" he sat across from her and answered briefly, "I got in through your bedroom window just after you fell asleep". She let the sentence sink in and when it did, she was pissed to say the least. A tic appeared on her head as she flushed with anger and yelled "You've been here all night! You pervert!" she stood up quickly as she shook with anger and glared at him.

Both he and the exceed gaped at how angry she became in an instant "O-oi! I ain't no pervert damnit!" he shouted with indignation, "now sit down and shut up". She stared at him for a moment, and sat back down a little shaken by the man she knew could easily kill her, but obviously not enough as she was still glaring at him like a hawk. Lily, seeing how bothered his friend still was decided to step in "Lucy-san please, Gajeel would do nothing disrespectful to you in such a manor, he simply came to continue your chat from yesterday, and knowing he couldn't come in during the day he came in at night". Seeing her calm down and stop glaring he smiled a little "how about you eat before your food gets cold and you two can talk afterward". She nodded in ascent and once again stared at the food in front of her.

"I told you already didn't I? It ain't poisoned, now eat up" she stared at him, searching for any sign of a lie but found none and carefully tried the food. Once it hit her taste buds, she hummed in satisfaction and continued, neatly but quickly, eating it all.

Gajeel smirked smugly when she hummed, delighted by his handy work with the meal. It was at this time he began studying her, her figure was curvaceous to say the least, no longer hidden beneath the darkness of night or her baggy hoody he was finally able to get a good look at her. She had long slender legs that led to her nice round hips, barely hidden by her black shorts. Her short tank top clung to her, revealing a small but toned section of her stomach. She had a small waist and a generous chest that practically popped out of her small tank. Although she was bandaged and bruised, it didn't really do anything to dampen her looks.

She was sexy as hell and he inwardly groaned at the growing stiffness in his pants. Clenching his jaw he admired her face, her lips were full and plump and her skin was as smooth and flawless as porcelain, which made her big brown doe eyes pop even more in comparison. How she managed to keep her face free of scars or bruises he'd probably never find out. Though he noticed, in her eyes, something wrong, he thought of asking but quickly shot that idea in its face not wanting to get caught up in her life any more than he had to.

Once she finished her meal, she looked up and checked the time, "6:53. Oh, shit! I'm gonna be late!" she practically sprinted back to her room leaving a stunned man and his equally stunned cat. She came back a few minutes later dressed in a school uniform consisting of a white button up top with a blue and black plaid skirt, knee high white socks, a pair of plain black dress shoes and a matching blazer.

She grabbed her bag from the kitchen and almost made it to the door when Gajeel pulled her back by her arm "Where the fuck do you think you're going Bunny Girl?" for the first time that morning she registered what he had been calling her "What did you call me? You know what never mind I don't have time right now I have to go to school". He glared at her, "We ain't done talking yet…and shouldn't you be outta school by now?" he mouth dropped in shock "No I shouldn't I'm too young for that. And seeing as you already seem to know where I live I'm sure you'll be able to find me after school lets out, but I'm not gonna let you mess up what goes on in my life, now back the **fuck** up before I get angry". She leveled a hefty glare his way that he inwardly flinched at and let go, "Fine, but I ain't leaving your house" he let her go "Whatever just don't touch anything bastard".

With that, she ran off to school leaving a wanted gang leader and his cute little neko stashed away in her home.

The day went by in a blur, other than being late for her first period class courtesy of the beast hiding in her home, that is, but otherwise it was a pretty average day filled with boring classes and excited yet distant talks with Levy and Lisanna about their upcoming book fair and the homework from the day before. Lisanna, being the most upset, stating that it was "ridiculous that she should have to know the square root of any 5 digit number as it will never be important in real life". Then Levy adding "and there is no reason why she should be forced to memorized lines to a song the class made up about the Fioran war of year 473". She loved talking to her friends, but her mind was somewhere else, it was circling around what had happened the previous night and this morning.

She trudged home wondering if he would really still be there after all this time _"Surely he had something else to do?"_ after a bit she unlocked her door and looked around. She called out while locking up "Hello? Anybody here?" all was quiet in the Heartfilia residence and she made her way to the kitchen to grab a snack.

Just as she was taking a bite of a deliciously red apple she had grabbed, a gruff voice interrupted her "Sup Bunny Girl?" she practically jumped out of her skin and he laughed whole heartedly, not a chuckle, rumble, or weird 'Gihi' but a full blown laugh. She fumed slightly as her heart rate returned to normal and she continued eating and sat down and decided to ignore how much she liked the sound of his deep and gravely laugh.

Once done laughing, he wiped the tears from his eyes and sat down. "So what do you want?" her voice was laced with annoyance as she watched him take a seat. "I already said I want you working on my problem" she raised a brow and took another bite of her apple, not really caring to use proper manners in front of him. She spoke after taking a bite but before chewing "And I told you no. I have enough to worry about without getting involved in your problems".

"I already told you didn't I? This isn't so much a request as a demand" he glared at her but it did nothing as her irritated mood had once again bested her.

"Look Gajeel… I'm a 17 year old girl dealing with friends, school, and my dad, I fight to take out aggression, nothing else. I do it simply for the fact that I get to beat the shit out of people, I'm not trying to climb a ladder or help anyone else for that matter. You can't come over here and reorganize my life, I'm not even in charge of it for goodness sakes, I mainly just go where I'm ordered like a little puppet as to not screw up the little bit of a good thing I've been given."

With a heavy sigh, he slid his hand down his face "When I had the idea to recruit you I didn't think you'd be some high school girl with a busy ass schedule".

"Well it seems you thought wrong, now get the fuck out"

"Pft, fuck no, we'll…we'll just have to work something out" he grumbled in his seat with a very displeased look on his face.

"And what do I get out of this?" he cocked a brow "What?" she sighed "I said, what do I get out of this, what reason would I possibly have to work for you hmm?" he stared at her and blinked, "You get to live". She made a thoughtful expression while tapping her finger on her chin "Mmmm nah, there has got to be another reason for me to do this"

He scowled "Fine! I'll…I dunno, I'll pay you" she hummed slightly and smiled when she realized how fun it was to bug him "How much will you pay me? I mean, I'm putting my life on the line for your stupid problem I better get some decent pay".

A tic appeared on his head as she called his problem stupid, this was important, if it weren't, he wouldn't even be asking for help. He growled in annoyance and he could swear he saw her smirk in triumph (because she did) as if she was enjoying this (because she was).

"Look, I won't cheap you out but I ain't gonna give a price till I see how good you do"

She thought for a moment and consented knowing it was either work or die, she figured at least this way she got some extra money. "Fine, but I'm busy tomorrow and apparently Sunday as well, that's all I know of right now I'll let you know if anything changes".

"Good, but tonight you come with me got it?" she nods and a thought flashes through her mind "No one is to know who I am, we clear?" he gives a curt nod "Chrystal, we all got our secrets Bunny"

Her eye twitched in annoyance at her nickname but she let it slide again "Okay, now go away, I've got school work" she says grabbing some work out of her bag. He smirked at her "Nah, Imma stay here, if I get caught leaving your house in the middle of the day, I'm pretty sure someone will suspect something".

"Gah! Fine! Just be quiet" he grunted and laid across the couch in the living room while she worked. After a moment she looked to him and asked, "Where's Lily?" he sighed, "home" was offered and they resumed what they were doing. After about half an hour of working she heaved a heavy sigh, "finally done" she mumbled as she put her stuff away. Already forgotten by the blonde, the Big Bad Wolf watched as she marched her way into the bathroom and shut the door, he heard the water running and figured she was gonna shower before they left so he busied himself with looking around her home again. Only unlike last time, he noticed a rather large stack of papers on her desk and decided to give it a look.

After Lucy finished her relaxing bath and re-bandaged her wounds, she wrapped a towel around herself and walked into her bedroom to find her clothes. Gajeel's ears perked at the sound of the door opening, thanks to his oddly sensitive senses, and he looked over only to have his eyes widen in surprise as he was met with a towel clad Bunny Girl.

"Gihi. Damn Bunny, I didn't know you wanted me that bad" an amused yet lecherous look played upon his face as she nearly jumped out of her skin in shock and held her hand over her heart as she tried to steady her breathing. "Geeze Gajeel what's your problem?" he merely raised a brow in her direction "I'm not the one walking around in just a towel now am I?"

She blushed a shade of red that could rival even the great Titania's hair and let out a shout 'eep' before grabbing her clothes and running to the bathroom. He let out a loud rumbling laugh that just didn't seem to want to stop. Well, that is, until she stepped back out of the bathroom and his mouth dropped in shock.

Her hair was up in high flaring pigtails with her bangs drooping lightly over her right eye. Tonight, instead of sporting her dark red lips she wore a brilliant purple that bounced of her skin just right. Her eyes were dusted with a deep blue color despite the fact that they wouldn't be seen.

She wore a purple bustier, effectively showing of her toned mid-drift and quite a lot of cleavage, its color matched that of her lips, with silver swirled designs decorating it. Her pants were black like the previous night, only this pair seemed to tie up along the legs, the white strings being the only things keeping the sides together at all. And to top it all off she wore a pair of sparkly black pumps. To be blunt, she was drop dead sexy.

She watched for a while as he stared at her before speaking "You done looking at me with those lecherous eyes of yours or should I just keep standing here?" her voice snapping him out of his naughty fantasies she was quickly becoming the new star of.

"Tch, lets go" he stood as she walked to her closet and pulled out the hoody and slipped it on. She was walking toward the door when a hand pulled her back "Aren't you forgetting something?" she thought for a moment looking over herself and couldn't find anything wrong "Uh no". "How about your weapon?" she blinked at him "I am the weapon Gajeel, I told you, I go out to let off steam so I'm naturally best at hand to hand combat now. I can use weapons; quite well really, I just don't carry them with me".

"You're gonna need to learn to if you're working for me, I'm all for a bare fisted beat down but you need a backup plan". Sighing for the umpteenth time that day she grumbled over his words and dragged herself back to her room. She grabbed the box of her confiscated weaponry and Gajeel watched with wide eyes at the girl's arsenal.

She pulled out a switchblade and used a band to grip it to her left arm under her sweater sleeve and pulled out the pistol she'd stolen last night and examined it. Noting it was a Smith and Wesson 686 service revolver and hadn't been fired recently as it still had all six rounds remaining, she tucked it back where she had it last night, put her things away and walked back to Gajeel as he eyed her wearily.

"What?" she asked stepping out into the night with the dark haired companion, "Nothing I just thought you said you didn't like to use weapons". She smirked "I don't' but I'm all for stealing ones that are supposed to be used against me" a devious grin lit up her face as the moon lit up the street just enough for him to see it.

"Don't go stealing mine" she walked a bit faster as she tucked her hands into her sweater pockets "Don't attack me and you won't have to worry about it, Wolfy". She smirked when he growled at the name but otherwise didn't concern herself with him what-so-ever, she simply focused on walking back to his hang out trying to prepare for what may come.


	6. Chapter 5 The Chase

As they walked Lucy began memorizing the route to the bar "What kind of name is Fairy Tail for a bar?" she asks while in deep thought.

"The first leader of the gang established it, I dunno why and I don't really care, but it fits with the gangs name so it ain't all bad, in fact the leader before me runs it," Gajeel answered gruffly.

"Oh, I was wondering why the big bad badass Gajeel had such a girly name for a gang" she laughed at him teasingly as she walked. He growled in annoyance and he wondered if she would really be worth putting up with. "Oi! Shut it Bunny Girl before I pierce your lips shut". Her eyes went wide and she stared at him "You wouldn't do that...would you?" rather than answering he gave her a frightening grin and an equally as frightening "Gihi". She shuddered at the prospect and decided to keep quiet, that is, until she realized once again what he'd called her.

"Okay seriously Gajeel what the heck is with that name?"

He quirked a brow in her direction "What?"

"You keep calling me Bunny Girl, why?"

To this, he laughed "Gihi. That's cuz you remind me of a defenseless little bunny".

She was appalled at the implication and dropped her mouth in shock, after a few moments she recovered and scrunched he face in annoyance. "Well I happen to recall this defenseless little bunny kicking your ass last night" she muttered agitated.

Visible tick marks appeared on his forehead "Watch it Bunny, you only caught me off guard, you're still weak"

"If that's the case then why do you want me as a fighter so badly?" she asked staring at him confused rather than throwing a fit like she was on the inside over being called weak.

He stayed quiet, he couldn't really answer her with a lie without sounding completely stupid "Uhg, fine, you may not be weak but you still ain't stronger than me". She calmed hearing this but started snickering soon after. Annoyed, Gajeel angrily asked "What now damnit?" she continued to stifle her laughter to a minimum but managed to asked "So, when talking to your gang afterward what did you tell them about how I escaped?"

His muscles tensed at the question "I didn't tell em shit and you better not either or I'll show you why they used to call me Black Steel Gajeel" he gave her a menacing glare which she flinched at _"Black Steel? Weird I've never heard of that name before, but it sounds like something I really don't wanna learn the hard way, so I'll just ask" _she thought to herself. Before she had a chance to voice her question though, a familiar obnoxious noise interrupted her thoughts.

"Let's go," he said as he pulled her inside by the crook of her elbow. She followed closely (although being dragged tends to cause this), once inside she noted the brawl going on that seemed to involve almost every person in the building. "Oh kami what have I gotten myself into?" she asked herself quietly.

Mirajane was the first to spot Gajeel but didn't see Lucy as she was using the man holding her as a shield, luckily he didn't seem to notice. "Welcome back Gajeel-san!" she yelled loudly enough for the whole building to hear, which it did.

"Hey metal face! I see you couldn't get the girl either, haha at least I managed to find her once, that means I win!" the boy she realized must have been Natsu started running around spouting nonsense about his victory over Gajeel and the rest of the guild. Needless to say, Gajeel had been fed up with it pretty quickly, and when Natsu neared him, he booted the pink haired boy into a table.

"Gihi sorry to burst your bubble flamebrain but you're wrong" he then pulled her further up so she was standing a step ahead of him "see". He smirked at the shocked faces he received. "But how?!" one member in the back shouted, "Gihi, I ain't gotta tell you brats, and just so you know she ain't telling how she escaped either so don't bother asking. Now welcome your new member" the whole guild erupted into cheers and Lucy stood shocked.

"Wait a minute!" she whispered angrily "I'm not joining a gang!" he simply smirked at the thought. "You're working for me, that makes you a member Bunny Girl, now go get your insignia". She stared at him, "I can't get one it-" she was cut off by him pulling her to Mirajane who seemed to have a stamp in her hand.

"Where do you want it and what color?" she asked cheerily. "Ah no see I can't ge-" she was cut off again by Gajeel when he thrust her right hand at Mira, "Here. Pink." She tried to pull away and protest but was silenced when the woman did as she was told with no hesitation. "Welcome to the Fairies Lil' Red!" Lucy failed to notice her greeting, as she couldn't stop gaping at the bright pink mark that now adorned her right hand.

She looked up at Gajeel in horror when the bar maiden slipped away from the tensing atmosphere "Why did you do that?" her voice was weak and breathy. Gajeel looked down feeling full of himself "Why wouldn't I, you're part of the gang now so you needed one" he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "But I can't go walking around with your gang's symbol on my hand! If you haven't forgotten I go to school still, not to mention what my dad will do if he sees it".

He paused for a moment and shrugged "Not my problem Bunny Girl" she gave him a glare that could scare the dead, and though he couldn't see it under the hood he still feel a chill run down his spine. "What do you mean _not_ _your problem,_" she spat venomously, her tone causing him to flinch slightly but not enough to be noticed, "this is _entirely_ your problem, you _caused_ it! Now fix it" her voice grew low and dangerous as she spoke the last sentence.

"Calm down Bunny, damn, just wear gloves or something" she growled, she literally growled at him, causing his mouth to drop in shock "Wearing gloves is against school policy, not to mention I think someone is gonna notice that I'm wearing gloves everyday despite the weather, plus I don't own any".

He thought for a moment "What school do you go to?" she sighs running a hand down her face. "Fiore High, why?" he responds quickly, "Well then don't worry about that, just wear em to school next time you're scheduled to go and you'll be fine, as for people asking just tell em you like em or are trying to do something new". "And what do I do about the fact that I don't have any gloves hmm?"

"Oi! Titania!" said woman turned to the voice and walked over "Yes Gajeel?" she asked in a stern voice. "Get Bunny here some gloves to cover her mark outside of business" without waiting for a reply he walked off in the direction of his office.

The scarlet haired woman turned to Lucy with a wide smile "You need clothes, I'm just the person to help!" her eyes shined as she grabbed Lucy's arm with enough pressure to bruise and yanked her to the corner of the bar. Her shoulder wasn't completely healed yet so her eyes watered at the pain, but she quickly blinked it away. When she was done dragging her she was at a table where Erza pulled out a big duffle bag.

"Here" she said as she pulled out six pairs of gloves "take them, they'll look great on you!" she exclaimed with a smile. "No no no I couldn't take all these from you" at this Erza laughed "Don't worry about it I've got three more pairs of each". "Are you sure?" Lucy asked still feeling uneasy about taking things from a woman she barely knows "Certain, now let's go introduce you to everyone".

Soon enough she had met nearly everyone in the gang except for Mira and Elfman's little sister who was the same age as her, a group called the Raijinshou and their leader Laxus, another called Team Shadow Gear, and a man named Gildarts, but she was told she'd meet them all at one point or another.

She was able to find out that the man who continually strips name is Gray Fullbuster. He's known as the Ice Prince as he uses ice cold tools and sometimes even ice, to do his work. His most notable weapon would be his cannon, which is pretty much just a giant pressure powered launcher that shoots balls of ice.

There is also the blunette she had seen chasing him around, her name is Juvia Lockser, also known as the Water Woman. She talks in the third person and uses water-based weapons like high-powered water pistols that shoot water at high enough speeds to go through a person. She also has a knack for kidnaping people and using her water as a sort of torture device. Lucy shivered at the thought of getting on her bad side, though it seems it has already happened based on Juvia calling her "Love Rival" now. Her reasoning being that "her precious Gray-sama" never gave her the same attention he did to Lucy.

In addition, it seems Gajeel wasn't the only person in his gang with an exceed. Natsu has a blue one named Happy, the little fuzz ball seemed to have no issues commenting on how weird she was, and Natsu had no problems agreeing. _"Really?"_ she thought, _"I'm the weird one? You're a talking, flying, blue cat for goodness sakes!"_ another was with a young girl with blue hair whom, she discovered, was only twelve years old, one of the three children associated with the gang, one of which not really being in it. Luckily, she wasn't really a fighter, more of a medic support than anything, which relieved Lucy greatly. _"Seriously who lets kids in a gang?"_ she asked herself. The girl's exceed was a white furred female with a strict attitude, apparently Happy has quite the crush on her, though she doesn't seem very interested based on how often she refuses his nice gestures.

The other two children are children of members; Romeo is a thirteen-year-old boy and only son of Macao Conbolt. He is the other child that joined the gang and looks up to Natsu like a big brother, and unlike Wendy is a more active member of the gang went it comes to battles. The last is Asuka Connell, daughter of Bisca and Alzack Connell, she's six and is too young to actually be in the gang _"Thank Kami"_. Also, it seems the whole family enjoys the cowboy theme as they all dress like them. The Connell's use guns while the Conbolt's, like Natsu, use fire. Though in completely different ways, Natsu uses fire in offensive tactics while the Conbolt's use it defensively.

It also seems that Gajeel, Wendy, and Natsu are all cousins…not that Gajeel or Natsu would ever admit it of course. _"That kinda explains why Wendy is in the gang, though it's still a bad idea to let kids in"_ she thought as she imagined all the horrible situations that could occur as a result.

Snapping her out of her train of horrifying delusions was Natsu when he suddenly exclaimed "Oi! Lil' Red! Why don't you show us your face?" the bar went silent and all eyes were on them again. _"Apparently he hasn't learned from last time"_ Lucy fidgeted under the gaze of the whole bar but took a steadying breath and plainly answered "No."

A collective whine went through the whole building; Natsu's being the loudest of course. "Oh come on, why not? You've seen us…or at least I think you have, I don't know how you can see with the hood like that though". She heaved a heavy sigh "I have my reasons okay? Now let's drop it" he pouted for a moment before smirking widely "But of course, let's drop it indeed," he paused for a moment as his smirk grew and his body shifted into a pouncing position and continued his thought "your hood that that is".

He threw himself at her cackling like a mad man as he tried to grab at her hood while she dodged. Not long after, Gray joined his frenemy, and that pissed off Juvia as she tried to get Lucy so her "Love Rival wouldn't be near Gray- sama any longer". Furious that Gray was paying so much attention to the hooded vigilante, Juvia soon abandoned the game of unmasking the girl and instead tried to strike her. Next to join was Elfman as he said "It's MANLY to show your face" and soon the whole bar (other than Romeo, Wendy, and Charle, who didn't want to intrude on her privacy) was involved as Lucy tried her hardest to evade the efforts of the gang and escape at any means necessary.

She was almost caught when she climbed the stairs to the second floor. She almost made it to the window when Happy suddenly dropped Natsu in front of her, blocking her path. She turned to go back when almost the whole bar surrounded her. She was still near the railing so she could jump down, but there were others on the first floor blocking the front doors.

"_Damnit, I thought Gajeel and Mira said I'd be fine"_ they were approaching her steadily when she thought of it _"Gajeel, If I can get to him I might be able to get him to stop this, him or Mira, and if all else fails I resign from the gang in the most violent way possible_".

She looked around and the members laughed "Just take off the hood, or we'll rip it off for ya" Gray smirked at her and Wakaba, a man with a pompadour hair style announced "There's nowhere to go you might as well just take it off where we can all see". She looked and saw the whole building watching, she gently rose to the top of the railing as if unsure of her actions. The whole building watched in anticipation as she rose her hand to her hoods rim slowly. She then smirked and pulled it down farther than before and jumped off the top of the railing and flipped through the air till she landed on the bar's counter. "Sorry but no." with that she took off running toward the back and prayed all the doors would be unlocked (which they were thanks to their high sense of security) with all the members chasing her relentlessly.

No one noticed the amused look they got from the man in his office on the second floor.

Screams of "Get back here" or "grab her" and comments alike echoed through the halls as she neared her destination, the **only** closed door, of course. She ran, though her dodging session with everyone was wearing on her like the plague, her breathing was rapid and shallow and her muscles were yelling at her to stop. "GAJEEL YOU BASTARD YOU LIED!" she bellowed. She even managed to overpower the crowd's yelling "_I'm so happy I'm fit and took projection lessons"_ was all she could think of in the heat of the moment.

The door in front of her suddenly opened with Gajeel looking pissed "What did you sa-" he stopped himself when he saw the escapade in front of him. Lucy burst past him into his office where Mira, Erza, and Pantherlily were all standing, she ignored their confused looks as she ran to the back where his desk was and put her hands on her knees as she tried to calm her body down.

The members were so focused on their goal they didn't even notice that they had entered the wolf's cave, nor did they notice the wolf in the shadow of the entrance. They filed into the room all eyes watching for their targets next move. Natsu was in the front with Gray, the latter looking ready to drop from exhaustion like the others did, even Happy seemed down for the count, all except Natsu. Natsu looked feral, like an animal hunting prey and about to finally catch it.

She saw Gajeel walk toward her with a pissed off aura, she saw Mira, Erza, and Lily wearing them as well, though Gajeel's was extended to a point where she felt it when he was at the door. What surprised her wasn't the barely suppressed rage, but the fact that it seemed like only she noticed it.

Gajeel stalked to her side, still unnoticed (just as the other three angry individuals) growling in aggravation as he bared his teeth at her. To avoid the pressure of his stare she trained her eyes solely on the person prepared to strike at any moment. Just as he was about to demand an explanation as to why she led his entire gang into his office and called him a lying bastard he noticed her shift backwards slightly. He looked up and noticed Natsu moving forward with his eyes locked on her hood.

She tested the area around her, seeing as Natsu didn't seem to plan on stopping his pursuit anytime soon. She inwardly groaned when her foot hit the wall.

Natsu watched as she realized she was trapped, he wasn't just a pyro he was a hunter, and he loved every second of it. He might not be as good as Gajeel or Laxus, he'll admit that to himself, but he's still fantastic at it. He wanted to take the glory of unmasking her, and he decided he was done with the chase.

In an instant, he leapt across the desk that separated them and she was swept off her feet, literally. Just as she was going to be caught, Gajeel had snatched her up by the back of her sweater and tossed her over his shoulder growling in the most menacing way she has ever heard. She broke out into a cold sweat at the noise, and the action combined with the noise finally made his, as well as the other enraged presences in the room known.

Everyone, Natsu included, paled at the realization and just when the thought crossed their minds to run, the steel door slammed shut and locked. Pantherlily was standing in his cloud of anger in battle mode watching the unwanted visitors. Gajeel was still growling when Lucy propped herself up slightly to see everything. She was so tired and thankful she didn't say a word about how he was holding her like a sack of potatoes, she merely focused on trying to get her heart rate and breathing back to normal.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing Salamander?" Natsu watched as Gajeel looked angrier than he had seen him in a while "I wa-was j-j-just trying to g-get her hood d-down…" he trailed off at the end when Mira's and Erza's heads snapped toward him with the same glare Gajeel held. " W-w-we all we-were" he stammered, his friends in the room paled further at this sentence and one member shouted a frightened "Don't take us down with you damnit!"

Lucy felt Gajeel's body shake with anger. He now realized why she had called him a lying bastard, he had promised that her secret would be safe and no one would care like the secrets all the people here had, then he up and left her and she ended up getting chased around for the one thing she wanted kept away.

"Why the fuck would you do that!? I told her she didn't have to show her face if she didn't want to, in fact it was one of the things I agreed to so she would join us in the first place!" he yelled at Natsu as he picked the pink haired lad up by his shirt and literally threw him into the sea of people before him.

Just as he was about to move again Mirajane and Erza walked in front of his desk. "Don't worry Gajeel" Mira said with a sickly sweet voice and all to happy smile that definitely didn't match her aura the way Erza's murderous expression did "We'll take care of them, you see to her". Lily unlocked the door and flew outside instructing them to follow but no one moved an inch until Erza unsheathed her sword.

At this action, everyone ran like wild fire screaming in terror as the two demon woman ran after them with a battle cry of their own, though Mirajane was sure to shut and lock the door behind her.

It was quiet in the room; the only sounds between Gajeel and Lucy were their harsh breaths and pounding heartbeats. After they calmed a bit Gajeel set her down in his chair and leaned against the desk where she was facing.

She curled her knees to her chest and sat watching him, wondering what was next. Gajeel was the first to speak "What exactly happened Bunny?" she could tell from his tensed muscles and harsh tones, which came through gritted teeth that he, was still seething.

"W-well" she began, not caring about her stutter "N-natsu asked me to take my hood off and

I told him no and that I have my reasons for wearing it so he decided to take it off himself. Then Gray and Juvia joined along with Elfman and soon enough nearly everyone was chasing and jumping at me. Mind you this started while I was in Erza's far off corner so I couldn't reach the doors, so I went upstairs to jump out the window but was blocked again and then I realized I could probably reach your office without getting caught so I made a break for it and here we are".

He slammed his hands into his desk causing a crack in the wood. "They screwed up bad this time…they're gonna get it now". As if on cue, pained screams laced with pure terror rang through the corridors and into the night "I guess when they said they'd handle it they meant it…" he muttered as the two of them stared at the door with scared looks.

"Sorry Bunny Girl, I didn't think they'd react like that, they all know there are somethings we need to keep to ourselves," he said glaring at the door.

"Its ok" she mumbled slightly "you stopped it and kept your promise to keep my identity a secret so its fine, but I think I've had enough excitement for tonight, tomorrow is my day off from school so I'll be out with my friends". He nodded as she stood up "Come on we'll go the back way, you're not gonna wanna see up front right now".

She followed as he led to a door completely shrouded in darkness and shielded from sight. The cold crisp air of the night gave her relief as the two walked back to her house. Once inside she was practically dragging herself to bed until she noticed Gajeel was still there "Uh, you didn't have to walk me home you know, now you have to walk all the way back".

"Nah, I'm too angry to go back there with all of them still there, I'll just crash here" a smirk played on his face.

She looked at him astonished that he would think that was okay "Why not just go home?" she asked honestly confused.

"It's even farther than the bar," he said with a shrug

Too tired to argue, she sighed defeated "Fine, just don't make a mess okay?"

He nods and she walks off to the bathroom with her pajamas and comes out a few moments later looking fresh, clean, and absolutely exhausted while Gajeel is lay on her couch. She climbed into bed and threw her covers over her "Goodnight Gajeel" she uttered with a yawn "Night Bunny" he muttered back, and with that they fell into sleep.


	7. Chapter 6 Not-So Day Off

Lucy awoke the next morning to the sound of birds chirping in her ear, she smiled at their tune and sat up stretching her arms high while releasing a big yawn. She had just gotten the best night's sleep she had gotten in quite some time and couldn't figure out why. She padded over to her calendar, hers being a strange one as it went by astrological signs rather than months, and noted today was the day she was to go to the book fair with Levy and Lisanna. Looking over to her clock, she saw it was only 7:00 am; she didn't have to meet up with the girls till 11:00, so she still had tons of time to kill. She grabbed some clothes and went to the bathroom to get ready with a relaxing bath to start her day.

After soaking for a bit, she started to wash up and wonder how long she had slept, she didn't remember looking at a clock before going to sleep, in fact she didn't remember a lot of last night. Although, for some odd reason this was this weird sense of security flooding her veins as she tried to remember. Now smelling like peaches and mangos, the girls set out to get dressed up for her day.

She put on a light pink, frilly sundress that ended right above her knees and had bell capped sleeves, then for shoes, she wore a pair of two-inch T-strap wedges with peach accents that matched the dress, and of course a pair of pink fingerless gloves to hide the mark that adorned her hand. For make-up, she applied just a little bit of eyeliner to make her eyes shine and a light colored lip-gloss that she would probably apply copiously to give her lips a nice sheen. Her hair she simply laid down and curls a bit so it bounced when she walked, then after tying an orange ribbon around her neck she dubbed herself ready.

Looking to the clock again, she realized she hadn't taken more than an hour getting ready as it was only 8:00 am now. She decided it was time to write a letter to her mother as she hadn't done so in some time, and told her all about how she was know working for the notorious Gajeel Redfox. Once she was finished she put it back with all her other letters and was about to think of what to do next when her stomach released a loud grumble which she read as _**"Oh my god feed me!"**_.

She grabbed a few of her largest tote bags for the book fair and walked out of her bedroom while grabbing her keys off the wall hook. That was when she noticed the snoring. Fear shot through her body and she rushed to grab the small P-22 she had hidden under the table (for such emergencies as having her home broken into of course). After grabbing it she slowly walked toward the couch where she saw the huge sleeping figure, she made her way to the front to see his face only for it to register as Gajeel. _"Wait, Gajeel? What the hell is he doing here?"_ that's when all of yesterday came flooding back to her, the chasing, the beatings, and Gajeel walking her home and not leaving.

For some reason the thought of him walking her home made her blush, well that and the fact that he decided to sleep shirtless, but she decided to ignore all that in hopes of calming her cheeks to a more natural color. As she was putting the gun away though, he decided to wake up. While he yawned, she checked out how his muscles rippled, it almost made her drool how sexy he was, but she sure as hell wasn't about to say that. Luckily, she had caught herself and calmed down before he could see.

"Well, well, well, looks like sleeping beauty finally decided to wake up" she said with a smirk as she crossed her arms. He gave a glare before a playful look crossed his face "Aww you think I'm beautiful eh Bunny Girl?" she simply laughed in response before making her way to the kithen. He followed her and sat at the table while watching her grab things and cook. The way she moved her hips while she did this seemed to, almost hypnotize him and a small part of him wanted to see this every morning, but only a small part.

Seeing as she had so much time she decided to makes blueberry crepes, French toast, and omelets for the two of them. After setting it down she got them drinks and they set out to devouring the meal. "Holy shit this is better than Mira's" he mumbled in astonishment as he began to eat a little faster. Lucy of course heard him but decided to keep her thoughts to herself, but smiled nonetheless

After finishing their food, she washed the dishes and found it was only about 10:00 so she still had half an hour to go before she left to meet the girls.

"So what are you gonna do today sleeping beauty?" she liked her new nickname for him as it made his eye twitch. He gave her a glare before answering gruffly, "Business Bunny, that's all ya need to know". She simply huffed in response before rolling her eyes, "well whatever, I'll be out so don't mess with anything in my house at all".

"Tch. Why would I wanna mess with anything in your house?" she snorted, to which he rose a brow not expecting her to do so. "Oh I dunno, I saw how you looked at all those weapons I have."

He looked away with a glare, and like an adult let her comment slid, until she started laughing of course which made him kick the chair out from under her. He laughed gruffly as she did her best to glare at him but only succeeding in making herself look cuter than usual _"Cute? Did I just think of her as cute?" _he quickly dismissed his thoughts as she rose from her seat.

"Well I'm off to meet my friends, bye!" she said approaching the door with her bag. "Bye Bunny" he watched her leave and after being sure she was gone began to look around for some paper, pens, and pulled out his phone to begin his work.

* * *

Lucy shifted the bag on her shoulder as she happily bounded off to the park to meet her friends. Her thoughts were full of the fun she would have, for a moment she was blissfully ignorant of the hard times in the world, including the ones she was going through.

"Lu-chan!" 2 voices chorused, she looked up and was met with the sight of Levy and Lisanna running toward her. She beamed a smile that could melt a winter's snow and ran to meet them.

"Hey guys!" she said as she hugged the two of them and they greeted her alike. "Come on you two! Lets get going!" Lisanna said as she started pulling them along. They cheered and charged ahead to the fair.

They ran around from place to place, enjoying the nice weather and great company. They bought so many books even with all of them carrying huge bags they still held some in their arms, well Lucy and Lisanna did, Levy couldn't handle all the weight and kept falling, though she still carried her bags.

"Moi you two, how come you're so strong?" the two laugh and Lisanna replies "Levy, you act like you aren't haha". Levy puffs up he cheeks and pouts "I'm not…" she grumbles sullenly. Lucy shakes her head "Levy of course you are, if you weren't you would be able to do have the stuff you do" Levy thinks for a bit, "well yeah I guess youre right, but then how come you two are stronger?" at this they both give her incredulous looks before laughing like never before.

"Awww come on guys don't be mean," she pouts as they continue to laugh. "Sorry sorry" Lisanna begins "but its your own fault" she says shaking her head with a smile. "Huh? How?" the two other girls begin to try and stifle their laughs. "Well Levy, we always invite you to go work out with us, but you always say you're too busy reading or doing other things".

Levy gives a sheepish smile, "well yeah, I guess that does explain it haha" soon they were all laughing again. It had been a few hours since they started and the girls were getting hungry so they decided to stop for lunch before going out again.

As they were all sitting in a café eating Lucy got a little restless, "I'm gonna walk around a bit alright guys?" they smiled in return "Sure Lu-chan, we'll be here". She smiled and walked out to stretch her limbs.

After walking for a bit she leaned against a wall near an alleyway. It was silent for a bit before she heard shuffling and put herself on guard. "Hey man," a male voice spoke "damn this place is packed today, I didn't know books were such a big deal" she nearly scoffed at the very notion of books not being a big deal. "Yeah dude" a new voice said "but at least we finally found a place to talk in private". She was about to leave, knowing she shouldn't listen to others conversations, when something they said stopped her.

"Now whats the news on the Fairies" she tensed and listened on with an avid curiosity. "Well from what a hear they recruited a new member but no one knows who yet, but if Wolf wants 'em then they're bound to be good right?" there was a brief silence where she inwardly panicked. "Hmmm, well that doesn't matter, they can't be that good, Sabertooth is the best gang out there, and no one can beat us, remember that Rogue. Just because you look up to Wolf doesn't mean you can start losing faith". Then a new smaller voice interrupted "Yeah! The great and powerful Sting knows what's right!" it was silent and she assumed the man now known as Rogue nodded when Sting said "Good. Now lets get back to headquarters, we're gonna attack tonight to catch em off guard and we were told to kill as many as possible and kidnap the newbie and deliver 'em to the boss".

"Yes! Lets all go like the great Sting said! And we should stop and get some food too!" then a cuter, even tinier voice replied "Frosh agrees!" then they walked her way, luckily she blended in with the large crowd or they would've noticed her. One had short blonde hair, blue eyes, and a scar above his right eye, it turned out the voice that praised him was his little red exceed. The other male had black hair that hung over his right eye and his eyes were red, kinda like Gajeel's but not quite, he too had an exceed but it was wearing a pink frog suit.

After hearing this new information, she made her way into the café and saw her friends chatting happily. She knew she had to get going to tell Gajeel what she had just heard, she tried to collect herself but her nerves were going crazy and it showed.

"Hey Lu-chan, you okay?" the girls looked at her with worry as they noticed her nervous smile. "Uh yeah but…I hate to cut our day short but something came up and now I have to get going" she gave them a sad and apologetic smile. They imagined her father had gone on some sort of tirade again and gave smiles "It's okay Lu- chan, we understand, we hope everything turns out well".

She smiled and hugged them before running home while struggling to keep her books balanced.

* * *

She fell through her front door in no time and dumped her precious books on the floor while slamming the door. "Gajeel!" she screamed trying to free herself from the bindings on her bags.

"Gajeel!" she hollers again as she gets loose. "What?! Damn I didn't touch your precious stuff Bunny Girl so shut it!" he marches out of her bedroom area with a scowl on his face, his heightened sense of hearing being irritated by her yelling.

She jumped into him, surprising him as his arms instinctively wrapped around her. "Oi! What the hell Bunny!?" despite how good it felt to hold her (not that he was thinking about how amazing her body felt against his) he pulled back to look at her, she seemed disheveled at best.

"Oi what happened?" he watched as she recollected herself. "While I was out today I overheard some people talking. From what I heard their names were Sting and Rogue, not counting their exceeds. They said that they had to get back to Sabertooth headquarters or something because their boss said they were gonna attack the Fairies tonight with a surprise attack and the plan was to kill as many people as possible and kidnap the new recruit to deliver to the boss".

She looked at him with wide eyes filled with a sort of fear he hadn't seen there before. Usually there's a sort of determination or thinking mixed in but this was pure unadulterated fear, and for some reason it unnerved him at an abnormal level. Then the weight of everything she had just said hit him and he got extremely pissed.

A large growl emitted from his chest and he grabbed her arm and pulled her into her room "Get changed, we're going to the bar, I'll be making some calls while you're getting ready, so you're day off is gonna have to wait". And with that the day become night and completely turned upside down.

* * *

**Oh uh sorry for not updating hehe there were some issues preventing me from doing so, but here is an unusually short chapter as an apology! YAY! kinda...**

**Seriously though, I am sorry.**

**Also I dont own Fairy Tail...**


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